William Schmidt, research fellow in the Division of Cardiology, was recently named the recipient of a two-year fellowship from the American Heart Association. With the help of faculty mentor Anthony Cammarato, assistant professor in Cardiology, and his lab, Will aims to uncover novel molecular mechanisms that regulate striated muscle contraction, and in particular cardiac contraction, so as to identify potential targets for the treatment of heart disease. His fellowship entitled, “Investigation of Actin Acetylation as a Modulator of Cardiac Muscle Performance,” will focus on determining the effects of actin acetylation on cardiac muscle contraction and identifying potential proteins that regulate actin acetylation levels in vivo. He will be employing a combinatorial, broad-based proteomics and quantitative in vitro approach that will serve as the framework for targeted future studies of this recently discovered actin modification.